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"You've been busy!"
"You know my 'bowling night' with Ethan?" he asked.
Once a week, I insisted that Cole took time for himself to do something he really wanted to do. To my surprise, he told me he was really into tenpin bowling and had gone with his brother to some lanes in Goldharbor Bay.
"Yes . . ." I said, with suspicion.
"Well, I've actually been studying. I’ve been doing an online architectural drawing course."
My eyes widened in shock. "Cole! You sly fox!"
"I know, I should have told you. But I really wanted this to be a surprise."
"Well, it is a surprise."
His stature changed. Pride seemed to infuse him as he stood up tall and put his hands on his hips. "I'm going to build us a house, baby."
"A house?"
"I'm going to knock this trailer down and build this in its place." He showed me the plans and started to talk me through them. "We keep the tree house, and the outdoor ninja death obstacle course or whatever it's called. But everything else will be new. It's gonna be tall. Not obnoxious, but tall enough for a damn sea view. I mean, we live right next to the fucking ocean and are you seriously telling me we can't see it from our house? And you'll have a kind of laboratory kitchen—"
"A what?"
"All the best chefs have them. I know. I googled it. And don’t worry, we can keep your fancy new stove and put it in the house. And I'll have a workshop because I've been thinking about furniture making—"
"Wait, wait, you want to make furniture?"
He scooped me up, making me whoop with surprise. "I want to make award-winning furniture."
"You dark horse."
"You have changed me, Elara O’Neil." He paused, holding me up, looking straight into my eyes. My heart fluttered. "You've reminded me that it feels good to be hungry, to chase dreams, and to really fucking try."
He kissed me and I melted into him. He wanted to build a house for us.
"There's gonna be a playroom for the girls, and I mean a big playroom. And a dueling space. And maybe even a library. I want so many rooms."
"Not too many! Cleaning a big house will be hard work and—"
"Marry me."
My heart thumped. "What?"
"Marry me, Elara."
Was he serious?
"Are you serious?"
Slowly, he lowered me down so that my feet touched the floor. My mind though, was somewhere up in the clouds.
"You complete me. I've heard people say that in films and books and always thought it was corny and schmaltzy. But since I met you, I get it. You really complete me. You're the soul to my grit. You're the cream to my coffee. You're the tarte Tatin to my apple pie. I know that Bluehaven Bay is kind of small and sleepy. But I promise you a big life. Big on love. Big on adventure. Big on teamwork."
Then, he got down on one knee and pulled out a small box from his pocket. "So, Miss Tarte Tatin, will you marry me?"
I bit my lip and he passed me the ring. A single diamond set in a humble silver band, but so elegant, so tasteful.
Tears were in my eyes. "Of course I'll marry you," I said, flinging my arms around him.
He roared with happiness, scooped me up again, and then, holding me carefully, he placed the ring on my finger. It was a perfect fit.
He kissed me again, and again, and again, and with each kiss, I felt as though the two of us were carving something out together. Making our own paths forward. Not letting the world tell us what we could and couldn’t do. Just going for it.
This was it. Free will. We’d found it.
***
